The Lucifer of the Seraph
Note: is the eighth chapter of the Jinki Fragments arc and the eighth chapter of Part V. The Third In Las Noches, a single person stood on top of one of the enormous towers that overlooked the fortress. Although dressed in a white hakama, the arrancar also wore a fur coat, which dominated his silhouette. The arrancar’s gaze was aimed at the eternal moon that illuminated the dimension, but his eyes were not focused on the light. With , the arrancar was sensing the events occurring outside of Hueco Mundo. He could feel the reiatsu flaring, one of which stood out among the others. It was signature that the arrancar knew very well. "So he broke out..." the arrancar muttered, "as expected." He looked down to his left hand, which was a skeletal metal appendage, and flexed the needle-like fingers. The metal fingers creaked as they moved. A moment later, another arrancar appeared with the sound of a . Her short hair was a dark blue with matching a matching blue eye. Because of her hairstyle, the arrancar’s other eye was completely covered. "Lord Herrera?" the newcomer asked. "You felt Aizen's presence too, Luccia?" Herrera asked, returning his eyes to the dark sky. Luccia only had time to give a curt nod before Herrera continued. "Considering the information obtained about the security given to Aizen, it would be difficult for him to break out of prison on his own," Herrera said. "He still has allies." "What are you suggesting?" Luccia asked. "Aizen is working right now: a plan is in motion," Herrera explained. "We need to find out who are his allies before he finishes what he has planned. In the meantime, I'm leaving you in charge; I'm going to the ." "But you will be detected by the shinigami!" Luccia objected. "And I am in need to interrogate shinigami," Herrera replied, raising a hand to create a portal. "It will be easier if they come to me." The arrancar lord stepped through the garganta, allowing it to close behind him. As he looked upon the city before him, Herrera allowed himself to smile. "Much easier," he mused. Herrera Advances! Herrera scanned the city, using his detection skills to single out the city's shinigami guardian. It didn't take long to find him, since the distribution of reiatsu within the city made it rather easy to find anyone with significant reiatsu. In one step, he was next to the shinigami in question, grabbing the unfortunate man by the neck with his normal right hand before the other could react. "If you answer my questions, I'll let you live, shinigami," Herrera told his victim, placing extra emphasis on the last word. He waited a few seconds for a reply, but the city guardian could only make grunting sounds as he fought to break the arrancar's grip. Realizing that the shinigami was not nearly strong enough to even fight his grip, Herrera loosened his hold to allow the shinigami to respond. "We don't negotiate with hollows!" the shinigami spat with a hardened gaze. Without a word, Herrera slammed his prisoner's head into the ground, creating a small crater. Giving the shinigami no time to recuperate, Herrera stomped his foot on the other's stomach, planting it there to keep the shinigami from moving. Herrera waited a few seconds for the other to recover from the attacks before continuing. "I'm not in the mood to play games. How did Sōsuke Aizen escape from prison?" he asked. The shinigami remained silent, which only indicated that he knew that Aizen escaped from prison. That was not the kind of information that Herrera was looking for. He stomped on the shinigami's stomach again. "Don't make me repeat myself, shinigami," he warned his prisoner. "Answer my question." It was at that moment that Herrera sensed something. He looked over his shoulder towards the source of his curiosity, focusing his pesquisa in that direction. Someone was advancing on him, fast. The arrancar instinctively swung his claw arm in front of him in a backhand motion, managing to deflect the zanpakutō of Raian. Using the momentum of his motion, Herrera kicked Raian back, putting some distance in between the two. Raian disappeared in a flash, reappearing behind Herrera to swing his zanpakutō at the arrancar again, forcing the arrancar to back off. The shinigami then grabbed Herrera's beaten prisoner and flash stepped away before Herrera could counter-attack. "They responded fast," Herrera scowled. Raian vs. Herrera "Sorry we didn't arrive sooner," Raian told the injured shinigami. He was accompanied by Minato, Yūga, and Yūbi. "Minato, look after him for me: this guy has a strong reiatsu," Raian ordered. "Right," Minato answered as Raian flash stepped away. Yūbi was peering over in the direction of the arrancar as Raian left, which caught the attention of his twin brother due to the former's serious expression. "What's wrong?" Yūga asked, sensing his brother's unease. "I don't like the feeling I'm getting from that arrancar," Yūbi explained, turning to face Yūga. "Something about him reminds me of Raian." Herrera was right where Raian left him, waiting for the shinigami to return. The arrancar looked slightly annoyed, but his voice remained level. "Do you know how Aizen escaped from prison?" Herrera asked. "Maybe," Raian answered. "Why would I tell you?" "Because there are things you don't understand yet, shinigami," Herrera retorted, "if you are generous enough to tell me, I'll return to Hueco Mundo. If not, someone may die." "I can't give you what you want: how can I trust you?" Raian asked. "Allow me to beat you up, then let you live if you answer my questions," Herrera proposed, drawing his zanpakutō. "I do hold to my promises." Raian smirked as he went into a combative posture. "I'm not going to let you win that easily." Herrera snorted in reply. "Clearly." They both disappeared at the same moment, closing the distance to each other at an equal pace, and clashed blades. At first, it seemed that Raian had the advantage, forcing Herrera back with his sealed zanpakutō. Due to this, he quickly seized the opportunity when Herrera left an opening on his right flank. Aiming to cut the arrancar, Raian only managed to notice Herrera's counter-attack with his clawed hand moments before his sword struck. With quick maneuvering, both combatants were able to avoid getting injured, breaking away from each other for breathing room. They did not say anything to each other: the two re-entered combat as quickly as they split from each other, fighting each other at speeds faster than the eye could follow. Observing the fight at a distance, Yūbi's eyes widened as he realized what was going on. "That arrancar: he has to be a jinki fragment," Yūbi voiced his thoughts. "Yeah," Yūga agreed. "It's hard to sense it, but the feeling is there. Compared to Raian's mastery, he's even farther: the usage of his fragment power seems... flawless." Shikai: The Battle Begins Growing more conservative in his strategy, due to Herrera's relentless counters, Raian decided that he had no choice." "Rip, Jūjiraiku!" he commanded his zanpakutō. Immediately after the sword finished its transformation into a cleaver-like weapon, Raian went on the attack, gathering reiatsu into his blade. "Taisuga Tenshō!" Raian roared, swinging his zanpakutō at Herrera. A wave of powerful energy tore through the air as it raced towards Herrera. The arrancar did not move as the wave of condensed reiatsu bore down upon him, watching the energy wave intently. As it approached, Herrera raised his claw arm in front of him and nonchalantly swatted the Taisuga Tenshō aside. The resulting explosion in the ground beside him created a heavy gust of wind, though Herrera remained where he stood. A smile grew on the arrancar's face as he examined his claw arm for a moment, taking note of the hissing of his metal prosthetic coming into contact with the hot wave. "Is that all?" he taunted Raian. Raian clenched his teeth, concluding that ranged attacks would not be very effective against the arrancar. He flash stepped close to Herrera, unleashing a flurry of strikes with his massive blade. Although Herrera could not easily make out the strikes, he was able to parry each blow with his sword and claw Category:Articles by LaviBookman